Swans midfielder Darren Pratley is used to finding himself on the wrong end of the dressing room banter at the Liberty Stadium.

His so-called colleagues love nothing more than winding the former Fulham man up every time he gets himself on the scoresheet.

For they reckon he celebrates every goal - even the tap-ins - as if he's scored a 30-yard pile-driver in a Wembley final.

But the 22-year-old is happy to remain in the firing line if it means the goals keep coming.

"There's no better feeling than scoring a goal,'' declares Pratley with a huge smile on his face. "I know the boys give me stick for my celebrations, but I can't help it.

"For those five or six seconds after I score, I really don't know what I'm doing,'' he joked.

Pratley gets serious though when quizzed about his goal tally so far this season. "Five'', he declares.

The stats, however, read four. There were goals against Leyton Orient, Northampton, Horsham and Port Vale; so where does number five come from?

"Bussy's (Guillem Bauza) goal at Havant & Waterlooville was mine,'' he pointed out. "It took a big deflection off me before going in.''

Bussy is having none of it though. And Pratley certainly wasn't getting any backing from his team-mates.

"I suppose I'll have to split the difference,'' he concedes. "Therefore I've scored four-and-a-half goals,'' he quips.

On a serious note, Pratley believes the extra freedom he's been granted by Roberto Martinez's successful three-man central midfield formation will help him add to his tally.

"I've set myself a target to double my goal tally by the end of the season,'' he adds. "Whether that's nine or 10, depends on whether Bussy sees sense and gives me my goal back!

"But I believe playing three of us in the middle of midfield has really benefited me - and the team.

"It was hard at the start of the season, especially at home. We were playing two in the middle and we were often up against three because teams were coming to the Liberty and packing the midfield.

"It was hard to find space and get on the ball. You could sense the crowd getting frustrated because we were being forced across the pitch a lot, instead of driving forward.''

Pratley more often that not felt the brunt of that frustration; but since switching to a three, he has been a revelation, helping to drive the Swans clear at the top of the table.

"I think the system has brought the best out of the three of us (Ferrie Bodde, Leon Britton and Pratley), especially passing wise.

"I'm lucky because the gaffer (Roberto) is a former central midfielder himself and is able to give me a lot of advice. It has certainly helped me settle in to the formation.

"We interchange a lot and it allows me the freedom to stay further forward where I can hopefully chip in with a few goals,'' added the England Under-15 Schoolboy who played in the same team as Manchester United star Wayne Rooney.

"I scored a few (four) when I was on loan at Brentford before joining the Swans and I actually started out as a striker at Arsenal when I was 13 or 14.''

I

t's been a long and winding road since then. Having been spotted by Millwall playing for his local church team, Pratley spent four years at The Den from the ages of nine to 13.

From there he made the move to Arsenal, but despite being offered a YTS contract at 16 he opted for another move across London to Fulham because he didn't feel he had much of a chance of breaking through into the first team at Highbury.

He eventually signed a three-year professional contract with Fulham and broke through to captain the reserves at the tender age of 16.

With first team places at a premium at the Premiership club, he spent two loan spells at Brentford where the fans dipped into their own pockets to bring him to Griffin Park, paying his wages for five months.

Having returned to Fulham, he turned down the offer of a new one-year contract and signed for the Swans in a deal worth £100,000 after former manager Kenny Jackett had expressed an interest in his talents 12 months earlier.

And the 22-year-old is still convinced his decision to step out of the Premiership and into the hustle and bustle of League One will reap long-term rewards.

"I still want to play at a higher level. Every professional should want to test themselves at the highest level they can,'' he added. "And I'm convinced I can do it with Swansea.

"My main aim at the moment is to play in the Championsip with Swansea. As for the Premiership, then who knows?

"We've got ourselves into a good position in the league and I believe the squad has what it takes to finish the job. It's in our own hands.

"The squad is so strong that we don't have to rely on any one person. If someone is missing, then we have someone ready to come in.

"For example, we relied a lot on Lee Trundle's goals last season. Now, while Jason Scotland is well on his way to 20, the goals are also coming from all over the pitch.

"And we've got plenty of options on the bench. We proved that against Oldham. With the scores locked at 1-1, we had the option of bringing on a player of Febian Brandy's quality to grab us the winner.

"We are also a lot fitter and more professional than we were last season - and that's down to the management and coaching staff.

"We crumbled in certain games last season and lost, but that hasn't been the case this season.''

Listening to the determination in Pratley's voice as he talks about finishing a job they started way back in August, it's difficult to see any other outcome than a place in the Championship next season.

And if the popular midfielder can stay awake, it should be some celebration. For Pratley loves his sleep!

"I've got to have at least 12 hours sleep a day,'' he adds. "I'll go to bed after training at about 3pm; up at about 7pm, have something to eat and I'm back in bed by 11pm until 8am.

"I suppose you could say I'm a big sleeper; but I need it.

"Barry (Marcos Painter) is the same - but he needs it for his beauty sleep. We room together when we go away, so there's not a lot of life coming out of our room!''

But if Pratley can repeat the same energetic displays he produced in the opening half of the season for the final push for promotion, then 'Prats' will have everyone's permission to sleep for a week.

INTERVIEW: Jonathan Wilsher